Extending the world's largest PDM installation

Citation

(1998), "Extending the world's largest PDM installation", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770eab.014

Extending the world's largest PDM installation

Extending the world's largest PDM installation

Keywords Production management, SDRC, Software

Metaphase Technology, a division of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (NASDAQ:SDRC), announce that its Metaphase (R) Enterprise (TM) product data management (PDM) software is now installed in most of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG)'s parts plants. The implementation is thought to be the largest PDM software installation in the world, with over 11,000 Metaphase users currently in production.

BCAG, the world's largest producer of commercial jetliners, is using Metaphase Enterprise to streamline and simplify the way BCAG employees configure and build commercial aeroplanes. The installation took place at 19 parts fabrication plants in several cities in the USA, including Everett, Renton, and Auburn, Washington and Wichita, Kansas between February 1996, and December 1997. Metaphase enterprise PDM software now manages 412,467 parts converted from legacy systems into the new integrated system.

BCAG installed the software as part of its process improvement effort, termed: defined and control airplane configuration/manufacturing resource management (DCAC/MRM).

Initiated in 1994, DCAC simplifies and improves internal processes for handling aeroplane configuration data; MRM simplifies and improves manufacturing business processes, which are driven by aeroplane configuration data. The installation is BCAG's single biggest initiative to further reduce costs, cycle time and defects, and significantly enhances the company's ability to deliver more value to its customers. To date, the new system has a total of 18,000 users, with plans for 55,000 users by the end of 1999.

According to Greg Saul, Boeing DCAC/MRM PDM system architect, "Metaphase was a key technology selected to support our major process re-engineering effort. Metaphase has provided a product that not only is a breakthrough in PDM technology, but also is an enabler in our process improvement effort." Continued Saul: "Metaphase supports DCAC/MRM's key requirement for a single source of product data. With Metaphase, users throughout Boeing are encouraged to capture, share, and re-use aeroplane product configuration data."

"We are pleased about the success of our long-term, strategic relationship with Boeing", said Ron Schmitz, general manager of strategic marketing and business development for Metaphase. "Our ongoing work with aerospace industry leaders like Boeing further enhances and extends the business value delivered through Metaphase enterprise. Working closely with Boeing, we have significantly pushed the PDM industry envelope related to deploying on a true enterprise scale and delivering significant, real business benefit to our customer's bottom line. Boeing's aggressive plans in 1998 and beyond will push us, and the industry, much further in extending the enterprise boundaries."

BCAG will continue the DCAC/MRM initiative by implementing the new processes and systems, primarily for its engineers and sales teams. This implementation will occur in four phases, ending in June 1999. After these are completed, BCAG will begin to expand the new processes and system to all its assembly and installation plant employees.

For further details contact SDRC UK Ltd. Tel. +44 (0) 1462 440222; Fax: +44 (0) 1462 440522.